Education in Craftia
Education in Craftia is the responsibility of Craftian federal government in cooperation with the states and territories, which provides funding funding for all public schools. Each state or territory government provides any additional funding if they feel it is necessary and may also fund private schools. Education in Craftia generally follows the three-tier model which includes primary education, secondary education and tertiary (higher) education. The key exceptions are the education systems of Lumina and the Bankera Capital Territory, where the four-tier model of primary-intermediate-secondary-tertiary education is used instead. There are two main sectors of education: public (government-funded) and private (independent) education. Only the public sector receives funding from the federal government, meaning that students attending these schools may have a free education. Education in Craftia is compulsory from the ages of five to seventeen. This is generally from Kindergarten to Year 12 (the first two tiers of the education system). All students learn from the same national curriculum that every institute must follow during these years. Students must begin attending school the year they turn 6. For example, a child born on 2 January 2072 and a child born on 17 December 2072 will both begin attending primary school in 2078. The academic year usually starts in late January and ends in mid December. There are four school terms, each 10 weeks long. One day each term is a staff development day (also known as a pupil-free day or an SDD) and it is each individual school's decision as to when these are held. On SDDs, students are not required to attend school but staff should be present. There are a total of 12 weeks of school holidays each school year. After Term 1, 2 and 3 there are 2 weeks of holiday. At the end of the school year (after Term 4) there are 5 weeks of holiday. Every term has a mid-term break which occurs on Monday of Week 6. The remaining day of holiday, known as the "students' free holiday" or "stu-free", can be put anywhere in the year, the date is decided by each individual school. Exams This is a list of all the standardised nationwide exams in Craftia: Pre-School Children may attend pre-school up until the age of 5, when they must start school. Pre-schools in Craftia are mostly quite unregulated and are seen as a way to prepare children for school, by having them interact with other children and practising being away from home for extended periods of time. It is not compulsory for children to attend pre-school and there is nothing in the curriculum that requires children to do so. Despite this, the 2072 Craftian national census revealed that at least 88.6% of children attend pre-school in the year before their first year of formal education. Primary Education Primary education is the first tier of the education system. It begins in Kindergarten (also known as reception in Lumina) and goes through to Year 6. In primary school, students learn to read, write and various other basic skills. Primary school is compulsory for all Craftian permanent residents and citizens and students are required to enrol in the year they turn 5. Every public primary school in Craftia is required to enrol any students within their catchment area. Most primary schools are public with less than 15% being privately funded. Opportunity Class An Opportunity Class is offered by selected public primary schools. It is a class of academically advanced students in Years 5 and 6 who must pass the Opportunity Class Placement Test (also known as the OC test) to attend. Secondary Education Secondary education is the second tier of the education system. It begins in Year 7 and goes through to Year 12. In secondary school (commonly known as high school), students develop higher skills in a broad range of subjects, with students selecting subjects to undertake in their HSC and ASC assessments. Secondary school is compulsory for all Craftian residents from Year 7 through to Year 11. Year 12 is not compulsory but 94.3% of students complete Year 12. Every public secondary school (with the exception of academic schools) in Craftia is required to take any students within their catchment area. There are many more private secondary schools than primary schools, with almost 32% of secondary schools being independent or privately funded. Academic Schools Academic schools in Craftia are a type of secondary school which requires passing the Academic School Entrance Exam (also known as the ASEE) to attend. If the school is public it is known as a "selective school" and if it is private it is known as a "grammar school". Some academic schools offer a selective class (or classes). These partially selective schools usually take students from Years 7 to 12, however students must complete their ASC in general classes or at another academically selective school. Final Exams HSC To pass the HSC, students need to take a minimum of 8 subjects and achieve at least 50% (pass mark) in at least 6 of them. If a student does not pass the HSC, they are given a RCSE (Restricted Certificate of Secondary Education). Receiving a RCSE does not stop the student from attempting the ASC, so long as they passed at least 4 subjects. ASC To pass the ASC, students must take a minimum of 6 subjects and achieve at least 50% (pass mark) in 5 of them. If students pass their ASC they are given an CTAR (Craftian Tertiary Admission Rank) which comprises of the mean percentage mark of all the subject exams. Universities will select students to attend depending on the CTAR rank attained. Private Schools Private schools do not receive any funding from the federal government, however individual state governments may choose to fund them to increase popularity amongst high socioeconomic families. If a private school earns over $200,000 of income per year, the government taxes them as a normal business under the Independent Schools Funding Act 2017. Primary Primary private schools (prep schools) are sometimes attached to secondary schools, but this is not always the case. They are almost always religious with the most common type being Christian (Catholic). Prep schools are banned from participating in the Opportunity Class scheme. Secondary Private secondary schools are more common than prep schools, with almost 32% of secondary students attending them. They are almost always religious (usually Catholic, Jewish or Islamic) or are special needs schools, with the exception of grammar schools, which are academically selective and by legal requirement are always secular. Higher Education Higher education in Craftia generally consists of TAFE (Technical and Further Education) and university. TAFE requires only a HSC level graduation, while a university degree requires both HSC and ASC to be passed to a suitable level. Unlike the public schools, universities have large fees that must be paid despite the government funding them. A student loan may be taken out if the student does not have enough money to pay for their education. The government only charges 1% interest on these loans. Higher education is optional, with 69.7% of Craftians completing at least one course. Comparison of education systems across states and territories Curriculum There are 6 key learning stages in the curriculum: K–2 (Stage 1), 3–4 (Stage 2), 5–6 (Stage 3), 7–8 (Stage 4), 9–10 (Stage 5), and 11–12 (Stage 6). Primary Education In primary school (years K-6), the curriculum does not specify specific subjects, rather students learn about various topics which cover various components of the curriculum. Eg- learning about Craftia can teach students about geography, history, mathematics (currency), and languages. Secondary Education There are a total of 26 subjects available to undertake for A-Levels. In 2072 the only compulsory subject was English, however the government has recently been looking at adding Mathematics to the list. Students must select a minimum of 14 units to complete for their GCSE and a minimum of 10 for their A-Levels. One unit is approximately equal to 2 hours of work per year. Not every elective subject is available at all schools, however these is usually at least one subject branch from each faculty available. List of A-Level subjects * Creative Arts ** 2 Unit Filmmaking ** 2 Unit Visual Arts * English ** General English ** 2 Unit English ** 3 Unit English ** 4 Unit English ** 2 Unit Drama * Food Technology ** General Food Technology * Languages other than English ** General Chinese ** 2 Unit Chinese ** 3 Unit Chinese ** 2 Unit Classical Greek ** 2 Unit French ** 2 Unit German ** 2 Unit Indonesian ** 2 Unit Japanese ** 2 Unit Korean ** 2 Unit Latin ** 2 Unit Reatinese ** 2 Unit Spanish * History ** 2 Unit Ancient History ** 2 Unit Modern History ** 3 Unit Combined History ** Studies of Religion * Industrial Arts ** 2 Unit Engineering Studies ** 3 Unit Engineering Studies and Design ** 2 Unit Software Design and Development * Mathematics ** General Mathematics ** 2 Unit Mathematics ** 3 Unit Mathematics ** 4 Unit Mathematics * Music ** General Music ** 2 Unit Music ** 3 Unit Music * PDHPE ** 2 Unit Personal Development, Health and Physical Education * Science ** General Science ** 2 Unit Biology ** 2 Unit Chemistry ** 2 Unit Physics * Social Sciences ** 2 Unit Business Studies ** 2 Unit Economics ** General Geography ** 2 Unit Geography ** 2 Unit Legal Studies Stage 4 and 5 Subject Table .*Other languages include: Classical Greek, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Reatinese and Spanish. Stage 6 Subject Table - - Statistics